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Red Dragon (2002)
The direction of SILENCE with the budget of HANNIBAL
Score: 6/10 When the first trailers and posters for this movie came out, everyone seemed to be asking the same question: Why? Harsh as that may seem, when one considers that RED DRAGON was already adapted into the sleeper hit MANHUNTER (directed by Michael Mann), the existence of RED DRAGON seems to be exclusively for Anthony Hopkins' benefit; whatever can be said of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and MANHUNTER, the one thing that most agree on is that while the latter is probably the better film in terms of story, Sir Hopkins has done more for the character of Lecter than anyone besides Thomas Harris could have imagined. The point is that the Hannibal Lecter trilogy is now complete and the films it contains have a slightly greater sense of unity among them. While HANNIBAL is a very different movie from SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, SILENCE is a very different movie from MANHUNTER. So, for a time, we had a very loose trilogy comprised of three very different movies that took three very different takes on three books written by the same man. MANHUNTER's relative obscurity did not make the situation better. RED DRAGON, in terms of chronology, may precede SILENCE, but in terms of style, it acts as a bridge between SILENCE and HANNIBAL. That is probably the best way to look at this film. In terms of presentation and visuals: If you liked the visual directness of SILENCE, you will be slightly disappointed by RED DRAGON's occasional artfulness in its visual execution. On the other hand, if you liked the head-trip visuals of HANNIBAL, you may be wanting something more from RED DRAGON. In terms of story: If you liked the who-dunnit quality of SILENCE (considering how little we actually see of Buffalo Bill), you will be disappointed by RED DRAGON (There is no real mystery to who or what the Tooth Fairy is). On the other hand, if you liked the deep character psychology of HANNIBAL, the Tooth Fairy's profile may be a little too formulaic. In short, if you go into this film playing favorites, you will find disappointment on all fronts. At this point, we look to the film's ability to stand on its own, which it does with moderate success. It stands a perfect middle ground. The only thing that really bothered me about RED DRAGON is the opening sequence, in which a flutist of mediocre talent disappears and Hannibal serves sweetbreads to his guests. To those who have not read the books, this sequence is presented to us only as a backstory briefly described by Starling (Moore) to Krendler (Liotta) in HANNIBAL. By fleshing out this backstory (no pun intended), it seems to invalidate the rest of the movie by showing us things we already know (and can certainly imagine).
FINAL STANCE: Great acting, an above-average story, and impressive production values, but overall a tad disposable. If SILENCE and HANNIBAL formed a complete enough story for you, you could live without these extra players. If you want to know more about the Thomas Harris miniverse, it is ultimately worth seeing.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
You've Probably Seen It Already
Score: 6/10 Pros: Extremely well-made, good mood devices Cons: Dull, Predictable Story
You know a film is in trouble when some fancy camera-tricks, an impeccably fantastic performance by Jennifer Connelly (among others), and a carnivorous refrigerator are the only things saving it from being dismissed as complete mediocrity. Aronofsky is a wonderful director and his talents really show in the film. The problem is that he chose a rather formulaic and lackluster story. If one were to ask, "what kind of movie is it?" or "what's it about?" one would receive this painfully short response: "It's a drug movie." If you have seen Train Spotting, Naked Lunch, Pierrot le Fou, and/or Pulp Fiction, you have seen this movie; they all have identical set-ups (except maybe for Pulp Fiction):
1) We are presented with characters with seemingly promising futures and the hopes and dreams to live them out accordingly.
2) They have it in their minds that the only way to achieve these hopes and dreams is by getting themselves a piece of the narcotics-peddling pie, which they do.
3) Everything seems to go accordingly until the characters' 'professional' lives interfere with their personal lives.
4) There is a subsequently fateful downfall of the characters in which, if they do not end up back where they started, they end up a few steps back (if not leaps and bounds).
The distinctions among all of these films is found within the manner and style in which step 4 is carried out. Granted, this film carries out step 4 very well, but time-lapse photography, staccato editing, and MTV's Fear-style POVs can only entertain for so long before even they become tiresome.
Sum Up: Great acting, great direction, great editing, great cinematography, formulaic and predictable story. Fun to watch, but leaves you with little to take with you when the credits roll.
My Advice: Stick to Pi.
Also: In addition to a performance by Ms. Connelly, we are also treated to a somewhat disturbing performance by Keith David, playing the character of Big Tim, a swinger/pervert of the highest caliber. It is a true testament to his flexibility as an actor when one considers that, a few years earlier, he had played a muslim holy man in Pitch Black!
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
You've Probably Seen It Already
Score: 6/10 Pros: Extremely well-made, good mood devices Cons: Dull, Predictable Story
You know a film is in trouble when some fancy camera-tricks, an impeccably fantastic performance by Jennifer Connelly (among others), and a carnivorous refrigerator are the only things saving it from being dismissed as complete mediocrity. Aronofsky is a wonderful director and his talents really show in the film. The problem is that he chose a rather formulaic and lackluster story. If one were to ask, "what kind of movie is it?" or "what's it about?" one would receive this painfully short response: "It's a drug movie." If you have seen Train Spotting, Naked Lunch, Pierrot le Fou, and/or Pulp Fiction, you have seen this movie; they all have identical set-ups (except maybe for Pulp Fiction):
1) We are presented with characters with seemingly promising futures and the hopes and dreams to live them out accordingly.
2) They have it in their minds that the only way to achieve these hopes and dreams is by getting themselves a piece of the narcotics-peddling pie, which they do.
3) Everything seems to go accordingly until the characters' 'professional' lives interfere with their personal lives.
4) There is a subsequently fateful downfall of the characters in which, if they do not end up back where they started, they end up a few steps back (if not leaps and bounds).
The distinctions among all of these films is found within the manner and style in which step 4 is carried out. Granted, this film carries out step 4 very well, but time-lapse photography, staccato editing, and MTV's Fear-style POVs can only entertain for so long before even they become tiresome.
Sum Up: Great acting, great direction, great editing, great cinematography, formulaic and predictable story. Fun to watch, but leaves you with little to take with you when the credits roll.
My Advice: Stick to Pi.
Also: In addition to a performance by Ms. Connelly, we are also treated to a somewhat disturbing performance by Keith David, playing the character of Big Tim, a swinger/pervert of the highest caliber. It is a true testament to his flexibility as an actor when one considers that, a few years earlier, he had played a muslim holy man in Pitch Black!
Aa! Megamisama! The Movie (2000)
A TESTAMENT TO THEATRICAL ANIME...even if I'm only watching it on tv
Okay, I'll admit, I'm probably the only person out there who should not be writing a review about Ah! My Goddess (or Oh! My Goddess if you want to argue translational context) because...well, I have actually never seen anything Ah! My Goddess. Not the TV series, not the OVA, not even the manga themselves! The only real link I had to anything in this film is the name Nobuo Uematsu, a co-composer on the film. Most of us, I am sure, know the name of the good sir Uematsu from his work on the Final Fantasy video games (and now I see why he wasn't involved in Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within...He was spending his time on this! WELL SPENT if you ask me!). But actually, I didn't even know Uematsu was involved in this piece until I read the credits at the end of the film, after purchasing it and watching it straight through (something I almost never get a chance to do with movies).
No, it was an advertisement that drew me to this wonderful work of animated film. I was reading Animerica Extra when I saw the full-page, color ad on the back of an issue for the DVD that I almost immediately fell in love with it and purchased it as soon as I could! The animation reminded me of the First Tenchi Muyo movie, with its character designs and astounding production values. Its sound and picture quality are top notch theatrical quality. I also enjoyed the story. Everyone loves love stories, even poor single guys like myself. There is nothing in this world that complements outstanding audio and visual spectacles as a good narrative to give them all purpose. The character psychology surpasses almost every other film I have ever seen, from the devotion of Keiichi and Belldandy, to the raging jealousy of Morgan to Keiichi and Belldandy, to the domineering control of Celestin over Belldandy. Every character serves his or her purpose, there are no mini-parts...only mini-goddesses, and they do just fine thank you very much! I especially loved the character of Morgan, the fairy princess. She could be compared to Iago in her role in the film. And there is no better villain than a well-meaning one! It annoys me to no end that works such as this receive no theatrical venues in the United States. Fortunately (yet sadly unlike most of my fellow anime lovers) I have the astounding luck of having a rather elaborate home theater system which allowed me to fully immerse myself in what would be my first introduction ever to the world of Ah! My Goddess. I would urge anyone in recent acquisition of a home theater system (anime fan or otherwise) to go out and obtain this fabulous piece of animation.
El buque maldito (1974)
One of the Greatest Zombie Films Ever Made
This film was my first introduction to the severely underrated Blind Dead mythos. Despite their age, they stand as some of the most hauntingly eerie and frightening horror films of all time. The film centers (for its first half) around two models (we shall call them #1 and #2) lost at sea on their way to an assignment who come across an old Galleon. #1 goes aboard, #2 too frightened to come aboard, and disappears. After a long contemplation, #2 decides to face her fear and board the decrepit vessel. Naturally, #1 does not answer her calls, and she assumes it is simply a cruel joke and camps out in one of the ship's rooms. Eventually, she is awakened to a noise outside and becomes confronted with the ship's long dead crew of 13th century Templar Knights. They slowly approach, extending their skeletal arms. Of course, #2 attempts to escape, however, her attempts are futile as she is caught and (almost gloriously in a sickeningly sadistic way) lifted onto the shoulders of the knights and carried off to certain death. I suppose it is hard to look at such films objectively without Wes Craven's cleverly written satire "Scream" coming to mind. As the second model tried feebly to escape the malicious Templars, the line "always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door!" reverberated in my head and I fought the urge to laugh as I was seeing this principle in action. Then I realized just how much principles such as those addressed in Scream fail to work outside the other Wes Craven films. The fact of the matter is, #2 did try the "front door" (the boat) but the boat had vanished. So, at that point, all she could do was run feebly "up the stairs". It is easy for us the viewer to make such remarks at such situations considering that we are not there on that galleon surrounded by bloodthirsty Templars. It is a simple fact of human nature that in situations of high stress, coherent thought becomes jarbled as raw instinct (and the will to survive) takes over, making even the most futile escape routes seem like open doors to havens of unrivaled safety. So, to all those who have lambasted such works of art as this for such reasons as those presented in "Scream", try to tell yourself to run out the front door instead of running up the stairs whenever you're being attacked by a deranged killer (or killers, alive or undead!). In conclusion, the Blind Dead series stands as the epitome of the horror film for their abilities to make the sly, satirical remarks of "Scream" fans null and void in the face of true danger.